Nintendo’s forthcoming successor to their popular DS line of gaming handhelds is the most highly anticipated console release in years, largely thanks to the promise of glasses-free, mobile 3D gaming. Even so, though, we still don’t have a lot of details about what hardware Nintendo actually plans on stuffing into the 3DS. What silicon is actually going to be driving Nintendo’s next big handheld?

The boys over at IGN have pooled their supplier sources and put together the most comprehensive overview of the 3DS’ likely specs yet. According to them, inside the Nintendo 3DS we can expect to find two 266MHz ARM11 CPUs, a 133MHz GPU, 4MB of dedicated VRAM, 64MB of RAM and 1.5GB flash storage, as well as an SD card expansion slot.

That hardware’s actually respectable, if not jaw-dropping: the ARM11 architecture was employed by the first iPhone and iPod Touch, so it’s a touch old, though it’s worth noting that there are two of them. Additionally, it looks like that GPU is being underclocked a bit, based upon rumors that the 3DS’ GPU would be a Pica2000, which has a maximum speed of 200MHz.

That said, like the DS before it, the Nintendo 3DS doesn’t need to push as many polygons as its competitors: it just needs to deliver a truly revolutionary new way to experience games, and Nintendo seems to be banking on 3D for that. The only problem is that last time Nintendo launched a handheld, they had no serious competition; now Apple is a strong challenger to the mobile gaming throne. Is 3D enough to get people to buy another device when their phone already games with the best of them?

Reader Comments

Anon

No serious competition?

The PlayStation Portable was supposed to be Sony’s attempt to dethrone Nintendo in the handheld market, just as it did in the home console arena. It was released about the same time in Japan, and just a few months later in the US. It *WAS* serious competition. The DS held its own.

Granted, Apple is now in the market as well, so it will be interesting to see how the various companies jostle for first place this generation.